The Top 30 list is OUR Top 30 list. It's compiled by the music director every week, and then submitted to CMJ for publication. That stuff is on the Top 30 list because WE play it on OUR STATION. When a CD is put into the pushbox (the shelves where we keep new releases), we put a grid sticker on the CDs, which DJs are supposed to mark whenever they play a new CD. The music director looks at the grid stickers on the CDs each week to count how many times a new CD has been played.

So, that is actually our Top 30, and CMJ is merely the outlet where it gets published. Understand that music labels, promotional companies, and other people who might send CDs will look in CMJ to see what's getting played on that station so they can have an idea if a CD that they might want to send us will get played on the station.

Now, you are right that not every genre is represented in the Top 30. I don't know how our current music director does it, but when I was music director, I just counted the stuff in the rock and electronic/experimental pushboxes because most of the shows at that time played either rock or electronic/experimental, so it represented a decent cross-section of everything that was getting played. And keep in mind that a CD has to be played by multiple shows for it to chart. Something played on the German show wouldn't chart because only the German show would play it.

Oh, and what you probably don't know is that there are also separate CMJ charts for metal, electronic, Latin, and other genres. So, we do have ways of counting other genres, too. I don't know which of those charts we report to now, but we did do metal, electronic, and Latin when I was music director.

All in all, I hate to say it, but the Top 30 and other charts are more for the benefit of industry people than listeners. Like I said, it gives people an idea of what might get played on our station and whether or not they might want to send a particular CD to us.

So, while you might not agree with all that, I hope I've at least made things more clear.

P.S. I read somewhere that if you spray non-stick cooking spray in a container before you put a tomato-based product in it, it won't get stained. But I haven't tried that for myself.

well that was informative...Thank you.
Well I guess my next question would be then how can we make a top 30 chart that is more representative of the station for the listeners rather thatn one that is not acurate and benifits the industry?

if were doing a represenative top 30 of the station, then id better start saving my playlists again to submit to this chart. or have listener feedback somehow. online voting/comment box while youre broadcasting live?

that's cool...I just think it would be even better if we all contributed...I know is alot of work and no body wants to do it but it would fun having a list with a metal song after a reggae song after a german song and so forth on a compiled list.... what ever I dream on.

Xpat has some great ideas....a few small problems (not including time) Some peeps do not do or half ass playlists, if they're legible. As far as requests, I get a lot of the same....one drunk calls w/ 25 per night, usually the same, No$ just want s to talk (that'd be #1 every week), or often for us late-nighters, no calls.
Chim chim e-mails us (those who report to him--"Loud Rock") and I try to announce it @ some point each week. Oh, and the only peeps who read CMJ seems to be...CMJ. College students, especially here, listen to crap--many don't even know we exist, or at least know OF us but cannot remember the frequency, or bitch that there's nothing they like (which is Indie rock, of which we have 17 shows......)